Growing Up in New York, the City That Never Naps

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David Allan, 54, of the Upper East Side, said: “First time camping for Lucas and me, sitting just outside our tent. Lucas puts his hand out, palm up, and states matter-of-factly: ‘That was a drop, and I know it was a raindrop cause there are no air-conditioners above us.’”CreditCreditThomas Slater

Maybe it was their first word, like “bagel,” or the detailed subway directions they gave to tourists. Or maybe it was when they didn’t know what something was; a mall, for instance.

Those are the kind of moments readers shared when asked to recall when their child, or a young person they knew, said or did something that screamed “New York City kid.” Comments are edited for accuracy, length and clarity. Of the more than 300 replies to our call-out, most memories related to the subway, the outdoors and New York City moxie. Following is a selection.

Notes From the Underground

Used to be that when we asked her, “What does the train say?” she would answer “Bing-bong!”

Thomas had a fever, so we took the subway to the pediatrician’s in Park Slope. As we rode the train, he looked at me and said with genuine alarm, “But Mommy, what if I’m the sick passenger?”

— Beth Dunfey, 43, of Ditmas Park, about her son, Thomas Nisson, 5

Riding on an uptown A train approaching 125th, a French couple asked my husband where to get off for Times Square. He explained that they had missed the stop, would have to get off and go back downtown. After they thanked him and got off the train, my 8-year-old son turned to his father, shook his head, sighed and said, “Tourists.”

When my subway-savvy son was 2, we traveled by plane to California. As the plane started descending and the pilot was making his customary announcements regarding the landing, my son turned to me and asked, “Is this our stop?”

— Carolyn Coffey, 43, of Inwood, about her son, Eamon Venerus, 6

We were waiting for the N train at Canal Street when tourists came up to me and asked how to get to Grand Central Station. I told them to take the 6 train Uptown and then my 7-year-old said, “Canal Street, Spring Street, Bleecker Street, Astor Place, Union Square, 23rd Street, 28th Street, 33rd Street, Grand Central.” Their mouths were on the floor.

— Rosanna Lake, 41, TriBeCa, about her son Gabriel, 7

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“When Eli was 6 and we were walking to school, he turned to me and said, ‘Nomah (what he calls me) are most pigeons homeless?’” wrote Lea Forant, 61, of Hell’s Kitchen.CreditThomas Slater

City Slickers, Busted

When our son was 3 years old, we took a trip down to Florida to visit his grandparents. While sitting in the backyard my son looked up and said, “Daddy look at that big rat!” To my amusement that “big rat” was a squirrel. This New York boy had seen one too many rats on the subway!

— Chris Koepke, 44, of Harlem, about his son, Caden, 9

Before he jumps in a puddle, he pauses and asks whether it’s dog pee.

— Alicia Samuels, 39, of the Upper West Side, about her son, Eli Rosenstock, 3

We were headed to the suburbs of Philadelphia where I was raised to visit my in-laws and I had told my daughter maybe I would take her to the mall to do some clothes shopping. She looked at me and said, “What’s a mall?” I never thought that she just wouldn’t know what a mall was.

— Christina Dever, 45, of the Upper East Side, about her daughter, Sadie, 12

While walking through Fulton Mall in Brooklyn, she looked around with joy and said, “Fulton Mall is my favorite mall!” I don’t think she’s ever been in another mall.

My son asked us when we were going to visit our family friends the Rudins again in the country. The country he was referring to was Scarsdale.

— Alex Reyentovich, 41, of Park Slope, about his son, Isaac, 9

On the East River Ferry from Governors Island to 34th Street, in the early evening, during a gorgeous early fall sunset, my 6-year-old daughter turned to me and said: “You know something about New York, Mommy? We don’t have stars, but we have sunsets.”

— Natalie Friedman, 42, of Yorkville, about her daughter

When she was 2 years old, on the way to preschool I asked her, “What kind of animal is a vulture?” She said, “A pigeon.”

— Carlie Sigel, 39, of the Upper East Side, about her daughter, Wren Hunnicutt, 4

On a trip to visit relatives in rural Pennsylvania, the lights went out in the area, we all went outside to look at the stars and my granddaughter says, “Look, Ma, it’s just like the planetarium.”

— Mayda Lugo, 62, of Astoria, about her granddaughter, Alanis Lugo, 5

Years ago when Liam was about 5, we were driving back from Long Island. Out of nowhere a yellow convertible Mustang blew past us and Liam casually says, “Wow Dad, that is a fast taxi.”

— Peter Quinn, 45, of the Upper East Side, about his son, Liam, 15

While playing Go Fish, where you try to collect cards by finding matching cards from your opponent, Scarlett (then 4 years old) had a card with a picture of a pilot and the word “pilot” written under it. She couldn’t read but said to her sister Sage, “Do you have any doormen?”

— Susan Blank, 46, of the Upper West Side, about her daughter, Scarlett Blank, 10

The other day I was reading a book to my son that asked who was in his family. At first he answered, “Mommy, Daddy, me.” When I asked if there were others, thinking of his grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins, he said, “Yes! Roscal!” Who is our concierge.

— Caroline Hwang, 46, of Harlem, about her son, Nate Smock, 3

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“Charlotte’s third word was ‘bagel.’ Every New York City kid teethes on bagels. That’s when we knew she was a city kid,” wrote Regan Lynn Larroque, 36, of Battery Park.CreditThomas Slater

Attitude and Street Life

I’m describing some after-school programs she thinks sound fun, but then I note that they’re full, so we’d have to get on a waiting list. “So,” she says, “if some of those kids die, then can we get in?” Ruthless.

It’s rush hour and we are walking down the crowded stairs to the 4/5 train at Borough Hall. My 11-year-old daughter is ahead of me as a big dude is coming up the downstairs side, so she full-on shoulder-checks the guy. I’ve never been so proud.

My son’s first solid food that I didn’t make or pack was a street pretzel, that he, of course, loved. He was “hangry,” I was out of snacks and we had a long bus ride down Fifth Avenue ahead of us. Now he’s a street food connoisseur.

— Judy Young, 50, of Union Square, about her son, Archie, 9

We were on a winter weekend close to Sag Harbor and were going to a breakfast restaurant. As we were pulling into the parking lot, my husband was reading the sign outside the place and said: “Look, they have everything. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and takeout,” and Philip answered: “No, they don’t. They don’t do delivery.”

Playground Humor

When we visited extended family in the suburbs, they used to run to their neighbors’ swing sets because they thought they were playgrounds. They couldn’t comprehend that those swing sets were private property.

— Bridget Murphy, 40, of Williamsburg, of her children Ana, 9, and Hugo, 6

During wintertime: “Mom, can I have a playdate and play with our scooters in the hallway?”

My husband was trying to convince our son to leave the playground for his afternoon nap. “Leo, it’s time to leave the playground. Time for your nap.” Leo replied, “No Papa, this is the city that never sleeps.”